JIM's urban BOB

[JIM]

So I decided to post my urban-BOB here. I live in a urban area, therefore my bag is geared towards a ‘I’m asleep, WTF my house is on fire: need to get out NOW!-bag’. The GF has a somewhat similar bag, so basically this is what I would need to:

- Get out of the house
- Protect me against the weather when I get out
- Assist me in getting to my BOL/evacuation station/motel

First off, the bag that I use is a 5.11 Responder 24 bag. This is a comfortable bag for my 20 pound-load out. That isn’t light, but keep in mind that there’s a full change of clothing in there, including shoes. This weight would obviously be deleted from my pack when I put on those clothes. A reflective band is attached so I can easily locate the pack with a flashlight.

This bag isn’t for long hikes though the wilderness, but so isn’t the Urban-BOB concept. I also found that any large bag, black or red will attract attention so I don’t need a specific-coloured bag.



The 2 top compartments:



- Leatherman ‘old’ wave
- Petzl e+lite
- Doug ritter PSP with additional water tabs, ziplock, BIC lighter and matches
- Heatsheet survival blanket
- AM/FM radio with earplugs and lithium batteries

There’s no large knife in the kit. I don’t need to chop wood with this kit or do anything a multitool can’t handle, so it’s excess bulk, weight and cost.

Front compartment:




- Prepaid cellphone, regulair charger, AA battery charger
- Safety glasses
- Sunglasses
- Bandanna
- pen
-marker
- Preon 2 flashlight
- spare house/car keys
- Notepad
- FAK
- Copies of important documents
- map
- spare AA and AAA batteries
- working gloves
- N-95 masks
- nylon cord
- Breacher bar
- Duct-tape

The cellphone, keys and documents are essential IMO. In the middle of the night, when you just grab&go, you won’t have anything on you.

Side pockets:



- 2 0.5l. waterbottles
- various energy bars
- sweets
- about €600,- in cash
- Platypus 3l.

1 liter isn’t a lot, but all I can carry because of SAWC. You definitely need a substantional amound of cash in a urban BOB to buy additional supplies, get a cheap motel or gasmoney

Main compartment:




As you can see, there’s a full set of clothes in here. Also:

- Packtowel
- Packable jacket
- Boots
- fleece vest
- Belt
- wet naps
- basic toiletries
- clothing: cargo pants, longsleeved shirt, t-shirt
- 2 pairs of socks
- underwear
- AMK thermolight bivvy
- Watchcap
- baseball cap
- fleece gloves

[mk_ultra]

Man , I am always really impressed with your set-ups . Good job again .

[A.C.E.]

Looks like a very nice setup.

May I suggest adding some toilet paper. Cause, when you gotta go, you gotta go

A few plastic bags, useful for (among other things) keeping wet clothes in so they don't get the rest of your stuff wet.

Have you got room in your bag for any more stuff? If you are travelling you might need to pick up supplies as you go. If your bag is tightly packed, making room for more food or water might be a hassle. A roll-up bag like a Maxpedition Roly-Poly or similar would take up very little space in your pack and could be attached to the webbing once filled with stuff.


Nice bag btw, how much did it run you?

[vrbsroma]

Awesome ideas for my GHB/Urban BOB I'm working on. I've focused far too much on wilderness survival, so I'll migrate ll that stuff over to my camping pack.

[JIM]

Looks like a very nice setup.

May I suggest adding some toilet paper. Cause, when you gotta go, you gotta go

A few plastic bags, useful for (among other things) keeping wet clothes in so they don't get the rest of your stuff wet.

Have you got room in your bag for any more stuff? If you are travelling you might need to pick up supplies as you go. If your bag is tightly packed, making room for more food or water might be a hassle. A roll-up bag like a Maxpedition Roly-Poly or similar would take up very little space in your pack and could be attached to the webbing once filled with stuff.


Nice bag btw, how much did it run you?

Yup, TP is an urban-BOB essential. Will do. I think I spent about $250 on the bag and contents (excluding cash)

I've recently sold my rollypoly. I found it to make every pack unstable when full.

[peter]

Fantastic Post. Congratulations.

[Necrodamus]

Does your car key use a chip?
The reason I ask is many people have relayed the experience of having their BOB stolen.
For this reason I had a key cut that does not have the chip, thats in my EDC.
To use it I can open my car door using the key lock.
That automatically sets off the car alarm. Inside the car I have another key (hidden but in easy reach of the driver's seat) with the chip to turn the alarm off. Using the key without the chip in my car's ignition will disable the fuel pump. If my BOB is stolen there is a good chance my car will not be.
I dont have an expensive car so I figure this feature is getting pretty standard on cars with remote entry / factory alarms.
Just a little Operational Security!

[wguy00]

I do nearly the same thing as Necro. I keep an unchipped truck key(it doesn't need them at all) hidden on my truck itself, not in my BOB. But inside my truck, I have a spare alarm clicker hidden that's quick and easy to get to.

As a side note: I have a Nissan Titan. I was told by the dealership that "all Titans use chipped keys" and was immediately quoted like $100 for a new chipped key. I did some research online and found that my specific model *does not* require a chipped key to unlock or start. After a quick run to Lowe's and $2, I confirmed this for myself. Just something to think about. It might be worth anyone's time and effort to have a key cut to see if it'll work or not. Who knows, maybe it'll at least open your door or something. Which would be cool to keep at work or home or in your wallet just in case you lock your keys in your car.

[Necrodamus]

wguy00 speaks the truth... but one word of advice.
Dont try the new cut key at 12AM the neighbors were a little sore! LMAO!
I drive a Dodge Caliber and it immediately set off the alarm and so quick thinking me quickly stuck the key in the ignition which did nothing. By now the alarm had been bellowing for about 30 seconds and was past annoying. It took another 20 seconds of fumbling for the car keys to get the noise to stop. By then I had about three people with flashlights shining on me.

[2now]

First let me say, very nice kit! I really like the urban theme, very realistic and more likely to be useful than a 'batman in the boondocks' approach.

That said, let me make the following comments:

1. Did I miss the IFAK?
2. I like to add 6” of cotton string, so I can make a wick if I want. Burnable oil is all around in an urban area.
3. Do you have a sewing / repair kit?
4. The keys are a great idea. Do you have ANY other keys you might be able to use? Work? Gym?
5. Here in the US it is easier to rent things or buy from machines some times if you have a visa card. A spare savings account with a debit card works well.
6. Trash bags/ plastic tarps. Think covering a broken window to make a building a more usable shelter.
7. Self Defense. I don't know what you can legally have where you are, but in an emergency, you should be ready to insure your personal safety. I do NOT think you need to have a gun or a fighting knife, but you should give some thought to what would work for you. If you are not going to have a dedicated self defense tool, consider upgrading a tool you already have to do double duty. A larger crowbar for example, a hatchet, cold steel bushman or a even just a walking stick.
8. Water filter straw, small, light, and cheap, to drink unknown water on the go.
9. Some sturdier rope, even just 10 or 15 feet.
10. Maybe a single can of food, that way in a worse case scenario you could use the can to boil water if need be.
11. Cable or light chain and a pad lock? Some cheap hotels could use improved security. Also allows you to lock you pack to prevent a snatch and grab.
12. A door wedge. Small and lets you keep doors open or closed.
13. Package of mainstay bars?
14. If you had to sit on the wet ground [waiting in line?] what would you sit on?

[zeropresence]

Good pack. My only comments are a giant red backpack draws too much attention to it being a valuable survival/medical resource for others to take from you. No firearm/knife to stop someone from doing so. No comms. If you are bugging out urban chances are the cell networks are overloaded as they operate on a 40% concurrent use rate.

[urban-survivalist]

Looks great. Impressive organization/load distribution. You managed to get a ton in there for being a fairly small pack (and only weighing 20 pounds). Nice job on keeping a pair of boots in there too--often overlooked.

I went the same route with my fixed blade/multi tool decision in my urban BOB.

Cheers

[Danger]

The kit looks good. I use the 5.11 Rush 72 hour bag and it is a little big for my needs.

The only thing I would add is a firearm for personal protection but given your location I'm guessing that isn't an option.

[maldon007]

Why boots, and not light weight (and smaller) running/walking shoes?

But otherwise, friggin awesome kit!

[run faster]

Yeah why the boots? not giving you crap just wondering, I would hate to carry them around

[Domindart]

nice

I live in a suburban/ urban enviro but Im preparing my pack for both urban and rural.

I will take from your list if you dont mind. thnx

[SoilSpinach]

The cellphone, keys and documents are essential IMO. In the middle of the night, when you just grab&go, you won’t have anything on you.

I agree with the documents - It was really a bitch getting mine back. I'm more than 9 months in after a house fire, and I just got my last document TODAY.

If in a fire/Act-right-now-or-never situation, I would suggest a box of juice/energy drink, or anything to give you a quick boost, along with water. You'll be really, really stressed out/high energy for longer than you could imagine, and you get worn out quite quickly. Your body might not be in the mood to eat, but it'll probably want to drink.

[backstrap]

Great thread, and great bag. Some things my family has included that you might think about are: some small packs of baby wipes for hygiene if you can't make it to a hotel room, some diaper rash cream in case you have to walk miles and miles due to natural disaster or what not, a 55 gallon heavy duty contractor's bag and some 550 cord to make a waterproof shelter in case you can't get to a hotel or there are no rooms available after a disaster, some hand warmers (hot hands) if fire is not an option they can save your butt when it's cold, a thumb drive in a waterproof box scan your documents and put them on a thumb drive along with photos of all your possessions and serial numbers also important family photos I keep one in each bag and one in the safety deposit box it has all our financial information, life insurance info, car titles everything on it get a higher end model with quality encryption and they are as hack proof as anything else is. Good luck and great job.

[The Omega Man]

I'm really trying to find something to critique here, but I really can't. So looks good to me, good job!

[74 or more]

Why boots, and not light weight (and smaller) running/walking shoes?

Yeah why the boots? not giving you crap just wondering, I would hate to carry them around

I wear boots 90% of the time. I love clean, dry, protected, happy feet. If I'm wearing shoes, there usually Merrell hiking shoes and it's usually only when hiking/camping.

I said that to say this: Why not wear the boots and free up the space? If you have to bring another pair of shoes (walking, running, etc) then I would put THOSE in the bag. They'll take up less space and make your pack lighter.

YMMV

[Bman]

Subscribed.
This along with the TP and 2now's suggestions makes for a pretty darned nice kit. Will repack my wifes and mine along these lines this weekend and a little less "batman in the boondocks". LOL'd.

[angelofwar]

Nice setup! Just a quick question, but have you verified your radio will work with your lithiums? I know lithiums AA/AAA's have a little more juice than Alkalines/RC's, and can damage some electronics that are not designed to handle the extra voltage. But, having lithiums is a major plus, so you know they are always good (for 10-15 years anyways).

Also, I'm not sure what laws the UK has, but have you considered a pair of two-way radios??? Over all, nice set-up though, and well thought out!

[JIM]

Yes the radio works on lithium, but I'm working on a update so hang tight.

[bacpacjac]

Really nice kit, Jim. We've got a similar one for a house-fire/flood type of going to a hotel type of event. I had thpught to add car keys to it, so thanls for providing such a good example to follow!